


Heartbeat

by Saerwenn



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Established Relationship, Gay Keith (Voltron), Hurt Lance (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Protective Keith (Voltron), Sick Lance (Voltron), Sickfic, Whump, klance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-21
Updated: 2018-09-21
Packaged: 2019-07-15 07:07:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16058051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saerwenn/pseuds/Saerwenn
Summary: Being sick is pretty normal.Until you're deep in space, fighting a war against mean purple aliens, on a magic Castle with flying sentient Lions, with no hospitals around. Then...it might be an issue.





	Heartbeat

**Author's Note:**

> I had this ridiculous notion for a fic, and then it turned into an 11 page beast. Whoops. 
> 
> Anyways, this is just a short domestic KeithxLance story to feed your soul. Totally self indulgent but hopefully somebody enjoys it. Drop me a comment with your thoughts on it! 
> 
> Also I do switch between their points of views. I think it's generally pretty clear who's perspective it's from.

When Lance woke up, he knew something was wrong. 

He felt cold even when he was bundled under the blankets in his bed, but his hair was damp with sweat and his skin was on fire. There was a dull tinge in his stomach that made him groan when he sat up, and a wave of nausea rolled through his system, causing him to double over in pain. He breathed deeply, saliva stringing out his mouth as he tried to regain a sense of himself. What was happening? Did he have the flu or something?

“Lance?” 

A deep voice from across the room cut through his headache, and a pair of red boots appeared in his line of vision. He blearily looked up into the concerned face of his boyfriend. 

“Hey Keith,” he groaned, reaching a hand for his black haired paladin, “Help me up? I’m not feeling so hot.” Keith complied instantly, grasping Lance’s outstretched hand in his own and setting the other on his hip to guide him to his feet. Lance wobbled, and then righted himself, one hand still lightly resting on his stomach. 

“What’s wrong?” Keith asked, eyes flitting over his partner with worry. Lance chuckled at the sight. Keith was never the nurturing presence his mother used to be when Lance was sick. Keith always demanded to know what was wrong, as if he could beat the sickness out of the person and win the fight himself. His worried face closely resembled his angry face, and Lance had finally learned the important difference. 

“I’m feeling pretty nauseous,” Lance admitted, walking to the washroom with Keith in tow. “I’m gonna grab a shower to see if I feel better. I feel just…eugh.” Keith shook his head fondly. 

“That’s not a word, Lance,” he informed him, losing the fight against the corner of his mouth that threatened to tip upward. The brunette grinned. 

“Relax Keith, I probably have space flu or something. I’ll freshen up and get some water and food and I’ll be fine. Now shoo, so I can shower.” 

“I’m not leaving. I’ll help you.” 

Despite everything, Lance blushed deep red. Almost as red as Keith’s boots as they slipped to the floor. 

~

The day passed without incident. Lance, for the most part, did feel better when he got up and moving. He took some Altean painkiller that dulled his fever and headache to almost nothing, and the only reminder of his unpleasant experience this morning was the ache in his stomach. He tried to fill it with food, but found he wasn’t even hungry, so he settled for drinking lots of water and juice instead. Keith hovered nearby, not right in his space, but never far away if he needed him. Lance had convinced his boyfriend that the team didn’t need to know he was feeling ill quite yet; Hunk had the tendency to blow things out of proportion and Lance wouldn’t be able to relax with his good-natured friend’s constant worrying. 

“Eat your dinner, Lance,” Shiro’s dad voice cut into his thoughts as he blinked away the sleep that was fading into his vision. He stared at his plate of green nutritional supplement and felt a bubbling of nausea at the sight of food. He smiled at Shiro. 

“I ate earlier Shiro, just couldn’t wait for dinner. I’m feeling pretty tired, mind if I head in for the night?” he asked in a steady voice. Shiro seemed sated by his confidence and nodded fondly, and Lance excused himself from the table and took off down the Castle halls. 

As soon as he stumbled into his room, he lurched to the bathroom and sank to his knees in front of the toilet, vomiting up everything he had been able to eat at dinner. His whole body heaved with the nausea rolling up his stomach, and tears pricked at his eyes. He absolutely hated the feeling of being sick. He barely even registered the whoosh of the door sliding open, and the quick footsteps crossing the room. Keith sunk to his knees beside him, a hand on his back and fingers in his hair, holding the damp locks back as Lance leaned into his boyfriend and cried. 

Once the last of the bile had forced its way up, Lance slumped against Keith’s sturdy body, completely drained of energy. Keith reached behind him for a washcloth and calmly wiped Lance’s face clean of sweat and grime. The cool cloth felt wonderful on Lance’s hot skin, and he relished the feeling of Keith’s hands in his hair. 

“Can you come to the bed with me?” Keith whispered into his hair. Lance nodded and stood, feeling a slight sense of relief in his stomach after emptying its contents. He slowly shuffled to their large bed and stood beside it as Keith arranged some of their pillows against the walls in the corner, creating a little nest for Lance to sit slightly upright in. Lance chuckled at the sweet gesture and climbed into the bed, leaning back against the pillows and pulling a blanket over his waist. Keith was instantly over him, holding a glass of water in one hand and a thermometer in the other. Lance took the water without prompt, and Keith stuck the temperature gauge in his mouth after a couple of gulps of the refreshing liquid. 

“You’ve got a pretty high fever,” Keith stated as the thermometer beeped out an unwelcomed 102 degrees. “Maybe it’s time to tell someone.” 

“Nah, I just have the flu Keith, I don’t want everyone else in here bothering me. I just want you,” Lance sighed, already feeling himself drifting off to sleep. Keith eyed him warily, but finally nodded. 

“Alright. But if you get worse, you tell me. Let me help you. And if I think this is getting out of hand, I WILL tell Coran. Got it?” 

“Are you seriously threatening a sick man?”

“Yes.” 

“Jeez,” Lance sniffed, “You sure know how to comfort a guy.” Keith’s face fell. 

“Hey, I’m sorry,” he mumbled, lifting the cover and getting into bed beside Lance. Lance leaned forward to allow Keith’s arm to snake behind his head as he rested his cheek over his boyfriend’s heartbeat. Everything felt safer in Keith’s strong arms. 

“I just worry about you, you know,” Keith whispered into his hair, following the statement with a kiss. Lance smiled into his shirt. 

“I know you do. I love you,” he responded, feeling sleep claiming him with each beat of Keith’s heart. The last thing he heard before he fell into a much needed blackness was Keith’s beautiful voice above him. 

“Sweet dreams love. I hope you have a good night.” 

~

Lance did not, in fact, have a good night. 

In fact, in Keith’s opinion, it was the worst night of his life. 

Keith had slipped out of bed once he felt Lance drift off to sleep, showering and cleaning up the bathroom before returning to bed. He placed a bucket beside the bed, knowing he would wake up if Lance needed it, and settled into the pillows to read. His body was exhausted from training today, but his mind was whirring a mile a minute and Keith knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep yet. As he finally felt his eyes drooping shut, he heard rustling beside him and turned his head to check on Lance. In a matter of seconds, the blue-eyed boy shot upright in bed, Keith had grabbed the bucket and flung it in front of his face, and Lance was violently retching into it. Keith’s heart sank. He was hoping Lance would sleep all night and get the rest his body needed to recover from whatever he was sick with. He focused all his attention on soothing the distressed boy, rubbing his back as he felt all Lance’s muscles spasming with each dry heave. Tears dripped down his cheeks, and once he seemed confident that his ordeal was over, he dropped backwards onto his pillows, asleep in moments. 

Keith frowned as he got out of bed to clean the bucket and wet a washcloth to wipe Lance’s face. He briefly considered waking the brunette back up to take some medicine but decided against it. Lance’s skin was still hot to the touch and it was making Keith’s insides flip nervously. The rational side of him knew that flus were not uncommon, and Lance would be fine, but there was something about being on an alien spaceship, far away from any hospitals or humans or any sense of normality, that made the danger of the situation seem heightened. People died from the flu sometimes. 

But we have magic healing pods, he thought to himself, railing against the worry spiraling out of control in his head, they should heal everything right? 

He just didn’t want to find out the limitations of Altean healing power when his boyfriend’s health was at stake. He told himself he was finding Coran in the morning, regardless of what Lance said about it. 

The night dragged on with Keith fading in and out of a fitful sleep as he helped his boyfriend make it through the night. Lance awoke multiple times to empty his stomach, and each time Keith would be there to hold him as he cried and vomited. He would force him to drink a bit of water, and help him lay back down, clutching him against his own chest as Lance would whimper and hiccup until he eventually fell asleep again. Keith would then get up to clean up, and slide back into bed to try and sleep before the next wave of nausea hit. 

The next time Keith awoke, it wasn’t because of Lance; it was the castle alarm that was blaring and startling both boys awake. The alarm that signaled an attack; that told them someone needed Voltron. Now. 

“No,” Keith breathed. How did he forget that they were defenders of the universe? He had been so focused on Lance, that he hadn’t realized they could be called to battle at any moment. Damn it he was an idiot; he should have told someone Lance wasn’t fit for battle. 

Lance, who was jumping over him and putting his armor on. 

“No!” Keith repeated louder, leaping out of bed to get his own armor on. “There’s no way in hell you’re going out there Lance.” 

“Like hell there isn’t Keith, someone needs our help!” Lance growled back, one hand shrugging his armor on and the other clutching his stomach. 

“You’re SICK, you can’t do this. You’re going to hurt yourself,” Keith yelled, frustration bubbling over and mixing with his fear. Lance couldn’t go out there. 

“Keith, I know you’re worried about me. I’m a little worried too,” Lance said, finishing with his armor and putting one hand on his boyfriend’s shoulder. “But you know this war is bigger than both of us. And Red will take care of me. As soon as we are done, I’m going straight to Coran. There’s some weird pain in my side that I don’t think is just the flu.” Keith thought he would vomit at the thought of something seriously wrong with Lance, but he knew the brunette was right: they needed to get out there and fight. 

“Alright. As SOON as we’re back, you’re getting help,” he said, pulling Lance into him in a tight hug. “Please be safe, Babe.” 

“Of course love.” 

And with that, they took off down the hall towards their lions.

~

Lance knew as soon as he stepped into his lion that something was seriously wrong with him. Red felt it as well, purring in the back of his mind in an attempt to comfort her paladin. He sent an unsteady wave of reassurance back to her, but he knew she could see through him. Sweat dripped down his face and his limbs were shaking as he slumped into the pilot chair, one hand on the controls and the other hand still clutching his side. 

“Red, I’m gonna really need some help on this one,” he whispered to his lion, who roared in sheer determination. She would get her paladin through this safely. He smiled. 

“You’re just like Keith, you know that?” he said fondly as he took off and followed his teammates. He couldn’t wait for this fight to be over and for him to be back with his boyfriend. Something about being sick amplified his need for Keith’s levelheadedness; his strong presence and unwavering love. Speaking of being sick, Lance knew he had to talk to his team quickly. As they neared the planet they were headed to, he opened his communication channel. 

“Hey guys? Can I talk quick?” he spoke into his helmet. Everyone hummed their agreement and he continued. 

“Okay, I’m feeling really sick. I need some help after the battle, but Red and I can hold our own until its over. I just need you to know, because I’m worried you’ll feel it if we form Voltron and bond.” There was a chorus of ‘are you alright’ and ‘why didn’t you mention it’ but Pidge spoke louder than them all. 

“I think we’ll be okay Lance,” she said matter of factly, “The pain has to be pretty intense for us to feel it through our bond. If you just have the flu or something, I assume it won’t bug us too much. But be careful.” Lance nodded and hummed his affirmation, relieved he wouldn’t be putting his teammates through any unnecessary pain. He heard a ding on his control panel, and Keith’s face popped up on a private channel a second later. His brows were furrowed as he took in his boyfriend’s disheveled appearance. 

“Keith, I’ll be fine. Focus on the battle ok?” Lance said softly. Keith nodded, but hesitated. 

“Just keep your head in the game for a little longer Lance, and then I’ll take care of you, okay?” Keith said, staring at him with such determination that it made the brunette flush, “I can’t imagine what I would do if something happened to you.” Lance’s heart swelled. 

“Love you Keith. Be safe.” 

“Love you.” 

And with that, they dove into battle. 

~

The battle was taking forever. The more Lance was jostled and pushed around the cockpit of his lion, the more agitated the pain in his side became, transforming it from a dull ache to a sharp, stabbing pain that made it hard to think. His body was drenched in sweat, and he had already thrown his helmet off to violently lurch over the side of his seat and vomit all over the floor. He had pitifully apologized to Red, who had hummed reassurance that it was no issue. However, they needed to form Voltron, and quickly. Lance took a deep breath and focused all his energy into bonding himself to his team, flying in formation until five became one. 

As Voltron emerged, multiple cries of pain surfaced. Lance quickly threw his helmet back on, disengaging the visor so he wouldn’t be trapped in an enclosed space with his own breath. 

“Guys, what’s happening!?” he cried, clutching his stomach at the effort. He formed the sword of Voltron and swung at the approaching Galra cruisers, taking them out with practiced ease. Keith was the first to seemingly recover, panting heavily into his comms. 

“Why didn’t you…tell me it was…this bad, Lance?!” he cried, voice thick with emotion. Lance winced as he realized his teammates were indeed suffering because of him. A tear slid down his face at the thought. 

“I’m so sorry! Should we disband?” he replied, wincing with the effort. Keith appeared on everyone’s dash, shaking his head. 

“Listen everyone, we can’t stay like this long, so we need to end this NOW. Come on, let’s give it all we’ve got!” he growled, to a chorus of ‘yeah!” from the other paladins. Hunk formed his shoulder cannon, effectively grounding the majority of the fighters in the vicinity. Pidge and Lance focused their laser blasts on the sole cruiser, and the brunette had never been happier than when it exploded in a fireball. He could feel his vision fading in and out; he was almost at the end of his pain thresh hold and he wanted to give in to the darkness so badly. He just wanted sleep. 

As he surveyed the area and the blessedly Galra-free skies, he gave up and slumped to the floor, curled around himself in a feeble attempt to make the pain lessen. His body wracked with dry heaves and shivers, and his side felt as though it was going to burst. He could hear Keith screaming for him, felt Voltron disband, and then his eyes slipped shut and it was all gone. 

~

Keith had a heart attack when he opened a video chat with Lance and was greeted with an empty seat. He screamed his boyfriend’s name, and heard a feeble groan from the floor of the lion, but then nothing. He wanted to rip his hair out. The pain he had felt in their link was excrutiating; how the hell had he let this happen!? Pidge effectively snapped him out of his thoughts by literally snapping her fingers through their video feed. 

“Keith! Has Lance ever had his appendix out?” she cried. Keith shook his head. 

“Not that I can remember, no,” he said, recalling Lance’s scar-free brown skin. His eyes widened. “Wait-“

“I think his appendix is rupturing, guys! That pain was one sided and sharp. We need to get him to a healing pod and fast!” she screamed. 

“Wait! What is an appendix?” Allura cried. When Pidge explained the details, Allura tore off her helmet and pushed at her hair. 

“The healing pod will not help,” she fretted, “Alteans have master surgeons standing by all medical procedures. Healing pods will fix what has been harmed, but they cannot extract a whole organ to safe a life. That would have to physically be preformed by a surgery before the person could be safely put in the healing pod.” 

Silence. 

“So,” Hunk’s panicked voice broke through the tension, “What the hell do we do?!”

“There’s a hospital a couple systems away from here,” Pidge said, fingers already flying over the controls, “Princess, if we get back to the castle, can you wormhole us there immediately? I’ll radio ahead to them and let them know we’re coming.”

“Right!” Allura cried, all of them immediately flying back to the castle. There was no need to tow Red; she understood the gravity of the situation perfectly clear.

“Coran, get the ship ready for departure!” Keith yelled into the comms, “Shiro, get down to Red’s hanger with a cold cloth. I’ll meet you there. Hunk, Pidge, make sure the hospital knows we’re coming and provide them with any anatomy charts of human biology you can find. Allura, you get us through that wormhole.” Everyone silently agreed as they landed, setting down and taking off in various directions. Keith jumped out of Black before his lion had even fully extended the ramp and was springing across the hanger to Red, who was already opening her mouth for her former paladin. 

Keith leapt inside and skidded to avoid the pile of vomit on the floor as he dropped to his knees in front of Lance. The Red paladin was sprawled on his back, both arms around his stomach and eyes tightly shut. Keith picked him up and checked his pulse, breathing a sigh of relief when he felt it’s steady beat against his fingers. He lifted Lance with him as he stood, carrying him out of Red just as Shiro burst into the hanger. 

“What happened?!” he cried, immediately placing the cloth on Lance’s hot forehead. He trailed beside Keith as they walked as quickly as possible towards the entrance of the Castle, preparing to land at the hospital as soon as they could. 

“We think his appendix has burst,” Keith panted, “We need to get him into surgery.” Shiro’s face contorted into a mixture of fear and guilt. 

“So at dinner the other night?” the former paladin questioned. 

“Yeah. He’s been sick all night. I didn’t realize it was something other than the flu until he mentioned the abdominal pain today.” 

“Shit.” 

Their conversation was cut short as they felt the Castle land, and seconds later medically uniformed aliens burst into the entrance hall with a stretcher. Keith could have cried with relief when he saw they were Olkari. Of all the people that were smart enough to help Lance, they were the best. He gingerly set his boyfriend on the stretcher, grasping his hand tightly. Shiro was explaining the situation to the head nurse. 

“Paladins, your Green teammate has sent us detailed instructions of what needs to be done, and is accompanying us into the surgery room. We need to take him now. Others will come by in a few ticks to escort you to a waiting room and we will let you know as soon as we have news about your friend,” She said in a commanding tone, staring pointedly at Keith. With great effort, Keith let Lance’s hand drop onto the stretcher, and with that he was whisked out of sight and to the hospital. 

“I love you,” Keith choked out as he fell to his knees. He felt Shiro wrap an arm around his shoulders as the adrenaline wore off and he let the tears fall. 

~

Lance was dimly aware of an annoying beeping sound. He didn’t want to wake up yet. Was it Keith’s alarm? Usually he turned it off quickly if he was getting up before him so that Lance could sleep. He would give him a minute. 

When it didn’t stop, Lance blearily opened one eye, searching for his black haired boyfriend. To his surprise, he was in a single bed, in a strange room, with no sign of Keith beside him. He had grown so accustomed to waking with Keith by his side that the emptiness felt alarming and wrong. What had even happened? He faintly remembered the battle, and passing out in Red, and a lot of pain. His heart rate was accelerating as his memories returned. He really, really needed Keith right now. 

“Paladin, please relax,” an unfamiliar voice spoke up from somewhere beside him. He whipped his head around and immediately groaned at the stiff muscles. He really didn’t want to spiral into a panic attack right now. He needed answers. However, he could only manage one word. 

“Keith?!” 

The figure beside him turned. “Get the Black paladin, and quickly.” 

~

Keith was sitting in a hallway, a coffee cup in hand and a nervous tapping of his foot. It had been hours since Lance had finished surgery, and although they were informed it was a complete success, Keith felt so on edge without actually seeing his boyfriend. The last image of him was burned into his mind, pale and unconscious, covered in vomit and still weakly clutching his stomach. He just needed to see him healthy and smiling again, and then he might be able to relax. 

A nurse came running around the corner. Her eyes locked onto Keith’s and she didn’t even need to speak for Keith to understand. He jumped from his chair, coffee spilling everywhere as the two of them took off down the hall. The black paladin burst into the room Lance was in to an unwelcome sight; a heart monitor was beeping wildly in the background and nurses were rushing around, trying to do anything they could think of to calm the boy in the bed. Lance was sitting up, one hand covering his eyes and the other clutching his heart. He was having a panic attack, and Keith’s heart leapt uncomfortably at the sight. 

“Everyone out, NOW.” Keith commanded, watching nurses stare at him in awe before quickly shuffling away. Keith dimmed the lights, closed the door, and marched over to the bed in quick strides where his boyfriend was trembling. By the deep, labored breaths coming from him, Keith could tell Lance was trying his best to calm himself down. The black haired boy sunk to his knees on the bed in front of Lance.

“Lance, babe. It’s me, Keith.” 

Lance’s head shot up from his hand. He locked eyes with Keith and immediately his whole demeanor changed; his shoulders loosened and his breathing slowed exponentially. He took a gulp of air as Keith wrapped him in his arms. 

“All good?” he choked out. Keith chuckled, trying to hide the tears betraying him and sliding down his cheeks. 

“We’re all good,” Keith assured him, feeling Lance slump against him in relief. They held each other until the shaking subsided and Lance was finally calm. 

“I’m sorry,” he sniffled into Keith’s shirt, “I haven’t had one of those in a while, eh.” 

“Don’t be sorry, it’s understandable,” Keith replied lovingly, stroking his boyfriend’s brown hair and reveling in the feel of him in his arms again. “How are you feeling otherwise? You scared the hell out of me, Lance.” 

Lance shuffled back with Keith’s help, leaning back onto the many pillows that covered his hospital bed. “I feel alright,” he replied, “My side is pretty sore, and I have a bit of a headache, but otherwise I feel fine. What happened, anyway?” 

“Your appendix burst. You had surgery to remove it,” Keith replied. Lance’s eyes widened. 

“What?! I have stitches in my stomach now?” he cried, scrabbling to try and lift his shirt. Keith caught his hands and chuckled. 

“There’s a bandage on them, silly, but yes. You have stitches. So be careful,” he responded, stroking both Lance’s hands with his thumbs. Lance sighed. 

“My beautiful skin!” he pretended to wail. Keith grinned. 

“You’re still beautiful. And you’ll always be beautiful to me.” Lance blushed like a mad man. 

“Keith! You can’t just say stuff like that!” 

“I can.” 

And finally, Keith leaned forward and captured Lance’s pout with his lips. 

~

Two days later, Lance was propped up in bed with a book Keith had been bugging him to read. The team had welcomed him back excitedly, and the Castle was docked on Olkarion for the time being to aid his recovery and to try and avoid any Galra attacks. Lance was on bed rest for a few more days, and his side was still extremely sore without his painkillers, but he was finally feeling more like himself. He even walked to the kitchen today with his crutches to get some food. So independent. 

Keith had barely left his side since he had woken up, getting him water and helping him up when he needed to use the washroom or shower. Aside from a trip or two to the training deck, Keith sat in the room with Lance, either doing his own thing or in bed talking to his boyfriend, and Lance would be lying if he said he didn’t love the time they were having with each other, even if he was recovering from surgery. Keith didn’t always show this protective, loving side of him and Lance enjoyed the reminder of how much he cared about him. 

Late that night, the two of them were laying in bed, illuminated by the soft blue glow of the stripes on their walls. Lance nuzzled his head into Keith’s chest and looked up at him. 

“Thank you for taking care of me, Keith,” he said in a hushed voice. Keith held him tighter and planted a kiss to the top of his head. 

“I will always take care of you, Lance,” he whispered, his voice deep with exhaustion, “Whether you like it or not. I love you…so much.” Lance beamed into his boyfriend’s shirt. 

“I love you too,” he replied, allowing his eyes to close. He was in the safety of his home, in his boyfriend’s strong arms, and he couldn’t imagine anywhere else he would rather be. He fell asleep the same way he always does; listening to Keith’s heartbeat.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading you guys!! Feel free to leave me prompts for any other story ideas you have! I love writing about these dorks! x


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